Category Archives: Politics

Guide to Brexit

BBC News: Brexit: What happens now? “The UK and EU have agreed a variable extension to Article 50 to delay Brexit. It was originally scheduled to happen on 29 March. […] Having lost two votes on the Brexit deal, Theresa May is now asking MPs to back just half of it – the withdrawal agreement, which covers the divorce settlement.

If she is successful, Brexit would be delayed to 22 May but there will still be issues to sort out. If she fails, we can expect the process of “indicative votes” to continue on Monday.”

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“Regierung sieht sich nicht gebunden”

Deutsche Welle: Unterhaus erzwingt Abstimmungen über Brexit-Alternativen. “Premierministerin May hat noch immer keine Mehrheit für ihren Brexit-Deal im Parlament in Aussicht. Nun wollen die Abgeordneten auf eigene Faust eine Alternative suchen und sichern sich größeren Einfluss auf den Brexit.”

“Das Unterhaus in London bietet der Regierung Paroli. Es nahm den Antrag einer Gruppe Parlamentarier am Abend in der Schlussabstimmung mit 329 zu 302 Stimmen an. Die Vorlage gibt dem Parlament die Möglichkeit, eine Reihe von Abstimmungen über Alternativen zum Brexit-Kurs von Regierungschefin Theresa May abzuhalten.

Das Abstimmungsergebnis bedeutet eine bittere Schlappe für die Premierministerin. Sie hatte sich wiederholt dagegen ausgesprochen, dass das Unterhaus entsprechende Befugnisse bekommt. Mehrere Staatssekretäre legten ihre Ämter nieder, um gegen die Regierung votieren zu können. Der Brexit-Experte der oppositionellen Labour-Partei, Keir Starmer, bezeichnete das Ergebnis via Twitter als “weitere demütigende Niederlage für die Premierministerin, die komplett die Kontrolle über ihre Partei, ihr Kabinett und den Brexit-Prozess verloren hat”.”

“A common refrain among the Brexiles I speak to is that they no longer recognise the country they grew up in.”

The Guardian: ‘The Brexodus is under way’: meet the Brits leaving the UK. “In the year after the Brexit vote, 17,000 British people sought citizenship of another EU country – and many have since upped and left. Five ‘Brexiles’ explain why they’re starting a new life overseas.”

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“It is so obvious with this president that had voters known some of what seem to be his business interests, he may not have been elected president“

The Washington Post: Trump could be left off some states’ ballots in 2020 if these bills become law.

“In refusing to release his tax returns, President Trump bucked decades of tradition and set off a Democrat hunt to obtain them. Now several statehouses are looking at making their release a condition of the 2020 presidential election: Show us your tax returns, or you can’t be on the ballot.

Eighteen states have considered legislation this year that would require presidential and vice presidential candidates to post their tax returns to appear on the ballot during a primary or general election, according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

Proponents of the bills, such as the one passed by the Washington state Senate this week, say they are aimed at increasing transparency and returning to the “norm“ of candidates releasing their financial records. But Democratic lawmakers behind the some of the legislation have admitted they are also very much about Trump, which raises legal and political questions about how far states can — or should — go in regulating who appears on their ballot, especially in a hyperpartisan climate.”

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“Luring a banker”

The New York Times: A Mar-a-Lago Weekend and an Act of God: Trump’s History With Deutsche Bank.

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“After Mr. Trump won the election, Deutsche Bank’s board of directors rushed to understand how the bank had become the biggest lender to the president-elect.

A report prepared by the board’s integrity committee concluded that executives in the private-banking division were so determined to win business from big-name clients that they had ignored Mr. Trump’s reputation for demagogy and defaults, according to a person who read the report.

The review also found that Deutsche Bank had produced a number of “exposure reports“ that flagged the growing business with Mr. Trump, but that they had not been adequately reviewed by senior executives.

On Deutsche Bank’s trading floor, managers began warning employees not to use the word “Trump“ in communications with people outside the bank. Salesmen who violated the edict were scolded by compliance officers who said the bank feared stoking public interest in its ties to the new president.

One reason: If Mr. Trump were to default on his loans, Deutsche Bank would have to choose between seizing his assets or cutting him a lucrative break — a situation the bank would rather resolve in private.

Two years after Mr. Trump was sworn in, Democrats took control of the House of Representatives. The chamber’s financial services and intelligence committees opened investigations into Deutsche Bank’s relationship with Mr. Trump. Those inquiries, as well as the New York attorney general’s investigation, come at a perilous time for Deutsche Bank, which is negotiating to merge with another large German lender.

Next month, Deutsche Bank is likely to start handing over extensive internal documents and communications about Mr. Trump to the congressional committees, according to people briefed on the process.”